Sign Visibility Clearing

What This Service Involves

We prune and remove the vegetation that grows across traffic signs, keeping stop, yield, warning, and guide signs fully visible at the distances required by the MUTCD. In the wet Puget Sound climate, fast-growing branches and blackberry canes can obscure a sign within a single season, creating a documented liability exposure for the jurisdiction. Our crews clear approach zones and sign faces without over-cutting, and they flag damaged, faded, or misaligned signs for your traffic division. Each cleared sign is logged by location to support your sign-management and risk records.

Benefits

Restores MUTCD-compliant sign visibility and legibility distance; reduces tort liability from obscured regulatory signage; captures sign-condition data during the same visit; targets clearing precisely to preserve surrounding vegetation; produces a location-referenced record for asset management

Our Process

1) Inventory sign locations and assess vegetative obstruction of each face and approach; 2) Set up spot traffic control at work locations; 3) Prune or remove growth blocking the sign face and approach sight line; 4) Log condition issues and deliver a cleared-sign report

What Affects the Cost

Number and dispersion of signs across the network; severity of overgrowth at each location; roadway class dictating traffic control level; recurrence interval needed for fast-growing species; add-on reporting or GIS integration requirements

Best Time of Year

Sign clearing is most needed from May through September when foliage is full, with a valuable pre-winter pass to remove growth before dark, rainy commutes reduce visibility.